Despite National Trend, Democrats Hold on to Power in New York

Despite the Tea Party-fueled anti-incumbency fervor that swept Republicans into a House majority and won the GOP a number of governorships and Senate seats on Tuesday evening, Democrats largely held on to the balance of power in New York.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo easily defeated Republican Carl Paladino to become the state's 56th governor-elect. The election was more coronation than contest, as pundits had predicted a win for the son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo since Eliot Spitzer resigned from the post in 2008 amidst a prostitution scandal.

The 52-year-old Queens native cut his teeth running his father's 1982 campaign and working as a policy advisor during the elder Cuomo's three terms as governor. He went on to become the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton. After a disastrous run for governor in 2002, Cuomo bounced back and won the 2006 race for attorney general, replacing Spitzer.

In his first public comments after winning the race, Cuomo offered a sobering view of the reform he's promised during months on the campaign trail.

"If people expect to see progress and realistic progress, no one who is at all informed can say everything will change on day one," said Cuomo this past Wednesday on Talk 1300 AM Radio. "Will people expect to see progress? Of course. And I expect to achieve progress."

Cuomo also said that he was focused on putting together a transition team in the coming weeks, and hoped to put politics aside and work with both parties in the State Legislature.

With Cuomo at the top of the ticket, the Democrats swept all of Tuesday's statewide races. State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, will succeed Cuomo as attorney general after beating Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan, the GOP nominee, 55 percent to 43 percent.

Schneiderman, who was first elected to the Senate in 1998, is regarded as one of the most liberal members of the chamber and was instrumental in passing reforms to the Rockefeller Drug Laws last year. In comments to supporters on Wednesday, the 54-year-old vowed to stand up to "powerful forces" including Wall Street and corrupt state officials.

"I will work to restore confidence in the markets. I have the same faith in our public actors," said Schneiderman. "I don't believe the Tea Party rhetoric, 'Throw the bums out.' I want to find the bad actors and get them."

– the state's top fiscal watchdog and the sole trustee of its $150 billion pension fund. The esoteric office has been in the spotlight since 2006, when Democrat Alan Hevesi resigned after admitting to using a state employee as a chauffeur for his ailing wife. Last month, Hevesi pleaded guilty to charges of accepting campaign contributions in exchange for lucrative investment contracts.

Despite having no background in finance, Long Island Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli was appointed to the post by his Assembly colleagues. On Tuesday, DiNapoli won his first election to the office. DiNapoli edged out Republican Harry Wilson, a 39-year-old retired hedge fund manager and member of President Obama's auto industry task force.

Wilson outspent the incumbent by dumping $4 million of his own money into the race, and was endorsed by almost every major newspaper in the state. The Scarsdale resident won every county outside of New York City, where DiNapoli dominated and ultimately won the election. In a victory speech, DiNapoli alluded to the spending gap and the fact that he's the only statewide official who's not a millionaire.

"This race was a little bit of a lesson that it's not always about the polls or the pundits or the papers, for that matter. But it is about the people," said DiNapoli. "You don't always need a famous name, and you don't always need a lot of money to make it in politics."

Democrats may have lost as many as seven seats in the Assembly, but they entered Election Day with a 107-42 edge over the GOP in the lower chamber. When the few outstanding races are called, Democrats will likely still enjoy a veto-proof supermajority of 100 seats.

Area Assembly winners included incumbents , D-Scarsdale, , D-Rye, Sandra Galef, D-Ossining and newcomer , D-Greenburgh, a county legislator who will take over for outgoing Assemblyman Richard Brodsky.

The GOP's big gains came in the State Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

As of Thursday night, Republicans hold a 30-29 lead in the 62-member Senate, with three races still up in the air. Democrats, who took a 32-29 advantage into the elections, are trailing in two of those bids, but 13-term by almost 500 votes. If she holds on and the Democrats win one of the other races, the chamber would be split, meaning leaders on both sides will have to hammer out a power-sharing agreement. Those races will likely not be called until next week.

The balance of power in the Senate will impact legislation on a number of key issues including property taxes, school funding, job creation and ethics reform. It also will have a profound effect on next year's legislative redistricting, which occurs every 10 years and usually favors the party in power.

En route to taking control of the House, the GOP took back five Congressional seats across the state – mainly in heavily Republican districts – giving them at least seven of the state's 29 seats. The only other state with such a large swing was Ohio. The GOP surge could derail much of President Obama's agenda, and House GOP leaders already have said they will try to repeal the health care overhaul passed earlier this year.

In Westchester, 22-year incumbent GOP challenger Jim Russell in the 18th District, while Republican Nan Hayworth beat incumbent Democrat John Hall in the 19th. 

U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, cruised to victory in their races. Schumer won his third term amid speculation that he could be chosen as the next majority leader. However, current Nevada Sen. Harry Reid held on to his seat despite a spirited bid from Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle.

Gillibrand, a former Congresswoman, was appointed to her seat in 2008 by Gov. David Paterson when Sen. Hillary Clinton resigned to become Secretary of State.

The Democrats weren't the only winners. Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins garnered 56,000 votes – enough to ensure the party automatic ballot access in all statewide races through 2014.

Without crossing the 50,000-vote threshold, third-party candidates just to get onto the ballot. Libertarian candidate Warren Redlich fell just short with 44,000 votes, and Rent is 2 Damn High candidate Jimmy McMillan, who garnered national attention and was portrayed on "Saturday Night Live" after stealing the show at an Oct. 18 debate, received about 30,000 votes.